The Divine Dream
by StarryBabe
Summary: A short dream scape, one shot. Who is waiting for Stephanie at the other side? This is unrelated to the other story I have going right now, just a little inspired piece. Thank you Janet Evanovich for allowing us to write with your content!


I walked slowly through the hazy room. It was only dimly lit and the haze was heaviest on the floor, making it difficult to see my feet and the path. I was holding my arms slightly out to my side, worried about losing my balance and I noticed for the first time that they were covered in a thin veil of transparent white mesh with a bit of intricate lace circling the bell of the sleeve, hanging half over my hands. I looked down to examine the rest of my attire and found that I was wearing an old-fashioned wedding gown. The lace on the outer parts of the sleeves ran down the sides of the dress from the top of my chest, down to my hips where thick layers of white mesh formed a large, billowy skirt that went down past my feet. Down the middle of the front and the back of the dress was a decorative corset that showed a touch of cream colored, floral print satin from underneath the satin laces.

_So this is it. I've finally decided who I'm going to marry._ I looked around for my prospective groom and couldn't find him in the congealing smog. I heard voices echoing, bouncing off of unseen walls. My mother was there, and I recognized the voices of Connie, Lula, Grandma, Mary Lou. They were all speaking to me at the same time, but I couldn't understand what they were saying. The voices grew louder and faster little by little until I couldn't stand it the booming echoes any more. I closed my eyes and covered my ears.

Almost immediately, it was quiet. I could see from behind my eyelids that it had gotten brighter. I opened my eyes to see what had changed and saw that I was in a garden now. There were high walls with climbing ivy and rose bushes, beneath them were flower beds of at least a dozen different varieties. I was still in my gown, but now my hands held a bouquet of multicolored lilies. They cast a glitter from them when the sunlight hit them and I felt like they must have been the most beautiful flowers I had ever seen.

I sucked in a fascinated breath and looked up to see if anyone else had noticed the brilliant flowers. Everyone was seated in rows before me. I realized what it was. The rows of chairs were all split down the middle where a red carpet ran the length of the aisle, sparkling rose pedals trailing all the way down.

I looked to my other side and saw my dad standing next to me in a black tux with an aqua tie and cummerbund. He was smiling wide, his face otherwise unmoving. He held his arm out to me and I took it, crooking my elbow in his. A thrill of butterflies skittered through my stomach as I turned to look in front of me, down the aisle.

We began our slow descent down the plush pathway. My feet didn't seem to be touching the ground. I was floating toward my destination, yet it never seemed to get any closer. Why couldn't I get closer? I could see movement on either side that signified that I should be travelling forward. So why couldn't I get there?

I started to panic. My anxiety to get up to the altar grew. Who was I meeting up there, anyway? I couldn't see the face of the man. I could see every other detail around him with perfect clarity, but the face and the shape of the body were obscured. My mind was censoring the answer I'd so desperately been seeking for what seemed to be an eternity now.

I catapulted my body forward, flying through the air for the distance of the aisle. It was terrifying to fly like that, yet somehow still exhilarating. When I landed I thought that I would surely have my answer now, but when I looked around me I saw that I had barely moved and the answer was still obscured, seeming to be an infinity away. I threw myself onto the carpet in exasperation and started to cry. My cries turned into wrenching sobs and the fog that had been around me in the first room was starting to snake around me again. I was to distressed to care, it could have me. I might find my way back out, eventually.

I pulled my knees up to my chest and let my head rest on my knees. I didn't look up for a long time, but when I finally did, I saw that the fog had once more lifted. The rows of people were behind me now and I turned to see them. They were all almost as still as portraits, smiling, patiently anticipating the wedding. My wedding. Excitement filled me to the bones as I stood to finally meet my groom.

"Ranger," I whispered when I saw his hand reach out for mine. My heart filled with a rapturous joy. There was a white halo faintly glowing all around his body and his smile radiated the same energy that I was feeling, so that it felt like we were a single unit, expelling and absorbing each other.

A few tears of joy streaked over my cheeks as I said the last of our vows. "Forever, Ranger."

The scene slowly faded out to darkness, but the feelings stayed with me, as I was slowly dragged back to consciousness. I woke up to see Morelli peering at me from the other side of the bed. It felt all wrong now. How had I never noticed before? I inhaled deeply and let out a ferocious sigh. I knew what I had to do. I had better get started.


End file.
